'"Unbearably" hot': Los Angeles resident discovers a giant grizzly bear swimming in his backyard pool to escape the sizzling summer heat after seeing unexplained ripples from inside the house

Blake Seidel • Managing Editor & Brand Manager

Aug 13, 2026 6:45 AM EDT

Apparently, the "bear necessities" this summer include a 12-foot deep swimming pool in a suburban backyard in the hills of L.A. Why is this bear living a better life than we are?

In case you've been living under a rock this summer, it's hot outside. Way hotter than normal, or at least what we remember as "normal". We've seen a wave of rescue stories recently of animals being rescued from this scorching summer heat, which is great, but what are we supposed to do in 5 or 10 years when the whole Earth is 1-2 degrees warmer?

It's so hot, in fact, that if you have a pool in your backyard, you might see some unexpected visitors. Giant, fuzzy, porridge-eating visitors, also known as bears.

CBS News' X page posted this video below of a Los Angeles man filming a living-room-sized grizzly bear cooling off in his pool after seeing some unexplained ripples in the water. After splashing around for a few minutes, the bear apparently did get up and leave, but not before giving the man a few territorial looks first. Hey, if we were a 500 lbs. bear trying to cool off in the California heat, we might also get a little territorial over a private pool that solved 90% of our problems.

In all seriousness, though, the reason why we're seeing more and more events like this is because we're increasingly encroaching on many forest animals' natural habitats. As our suburban zones continue to expand farther and farther away from city centers and enter more rural territory, all the fauna that live there are forced to move homes as well, or adapt to living next to humans. In this case, the bear decided that overheating was scarier than facing a few angry humans, and he was right. A little dip in an empty pool wouldn't hurt anyone - and how was he supposed to know that you're supposed to shower before getting in?

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That might be the biggest fish we've ever seen. Also the furriest. And the heaviest. And the bitiest. Let's just say we don't want that “fish” anywhere near our swimming pools.
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At least the bear left on its own accord. I wouldn't want to have to try and convince him to leave. How does one even begin to convince a bear of anything?
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'"Unbearably" hot': Los Angeles resident discovers a giant grizzly bear swimming in his backyard pool to escape the sizzling summer heat after seeing unexplained ripples from inside the house

Apparently, the "bear necessities" this summer include a 12-foot deep swimming pool in a suburban backyard in the hills of L.A. Why is this bear living a better life than we are?

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